Hi everyone, What leisure batteries do you have in your vans? I have a 100w solar panel on the roof which is currently connected to an old car battery that I had as a very temporary measure. I now want to upgrade to a proper leisure battery. The only electrical drains I have running off the leisure battery are a JK F50 compressor fridge and some LED lights along with a diesel heater used occasionally in the cooler months. Its going in a 1969 Early with the standard dynamo and a VSR as well as the 100W solar panel on the roof. what batteries do you guys use that fit in the space below the spare wheel well in the Lh side of the engine bay and what rating? 75AH, 100AH etc and is it worth paying extra for AGM? My starter battery is a standard wet lead acid 75AH if relevant. thank you Andy
I like that "only" a fridge. Fridges are THE consumers of self sufficient power. Without a fridge I'm not sure you'd even need a leisure battery, solar etc.
If you want to keep things simpler and stay with existing technology, rather than go lithium, for which you need a battery management system, then Banner make nice leisure batteries, no connection with Banner, other than being a satisfied customer.
I had No leisure battery on my Green Bay , never had a flat battery , charged phone , ran lights , ran eberspacher etc , im interested in the need for 10giggawatts of solar , batteries etc
The heaviest that will fit as it would have the thicker the lead plate the better it will cope with cycles
I can concur with mr. Zed , ran it for years without a leisure battery - radio/cassette, lights but no fridge would last 3 or 4 days .... Only reason I fitted a leisure battery was when I got soft and decided on a propex , then came the mission creep of VSR, 100w panel so why not run a small compressor fridge - absolute game changer though and money well spent. Ohhh , 90ah hanook. Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
The compressor fridge was a game changer for me, the worst 'upgrade' I have made, it'll kill a 75Ah battery in a day if it's hot. I now have a 176Ah lithium battery and 240w solar with a 30amp B2B and 20amp MPPT. With a gas fridge you don't need a high capacity leisure battery or solar. As the only electrical drain you have running off the leisure battery include a compressor fridge fit the largest leisure battery possible.
A wet cell lead acid to match the starter battery. The physically largest and heaviest for its capacity that will fit. For storage capacity and lifetime. If you fit an AGM it wont charge completely in parallel with a wet cell battery as the voltages needed are slightly higher. Or you need a B2B charger. Plus a wet cell might survive being left flat for a week, AGM will be dead. Lithium batteries are going to last much longer but the installation is much more expensive , but over say 10 years they will end up cheaper. If you only keep your bus a few years, then it wont have paid back. Personally I buy the 100AH Halfords leisure batteries because they fit, and it's only usually a relatively minor diversion to buy another if/when I discover it's dead.
How long do leisure battery's generally last?, my Hankook 90 amp seemed to drop voltage more than usual at the last TE. It's about 4 years old.
Depends on how you look after them mine is always charged with a good mains charger before and after use My last one lasted 12years and wasn’t that bad when I changed it
Fitted march last year. I use Yuasa on my Buell moto and always found them very good. Probably not the best as the terminals are wrong way round but fits in the space just. My halfords cheapo cool box kind of destroyed my first leisure battery so changed to this and a compressor cool box.
I fitted a 100ah lithium battery earlier this year after some guidance from @pkrboo. Very happy with it so far and I'm running similar loads with a 100w solar panel. If your solar controller supports lithium then you don't really need anything else. I ditched my split charge and just charge off solar now. I have the mains charger as a backup but so far have only used it for the first charge Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
Cheap car battery does it for me - I have the van wired up to charge both batteries on hook up, if I ever run it so low it cant be recovered I'll chuck another el cheapo one in there.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I have bought a 105AH leisure battery from euro car parts that fits nicely in the hole. The terminals are the correct way around to keep the positive away from the spare wheel well also.
I discovered if I put the Halfords battery (terminals not mirrored like proper leisure batteries) in with the terminals facing outwards, there is actually quite a lot of space between the wheel well and the body panel. So I use quick release clamps with plastic covers and grease and accept its going to rain on them... So I dont have a positive terminal just under the spare wheel well, it's over by the rear light.. And I do have a piece of angle iron held down by two pieces of M6 studding to hold the battery in place.
This is the one I bought recently and fits. It is advanced flooded so lasts longer and takes a bit more of a hammering. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20238301...QfClJY5SGO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk
